This Time
by moonlightonmalfoymanor
Summary: Remus thinks Tonks died in the final battle, but did she? happy ending


I wrote this years ago and just came across it again. I never posted it here, so I figured I'd do that now. I think I wrote it after book 5 came out, so it is AU by now.

Disclaimer: If my name was JKR, do you really think I'd be posting here? 

This Time

-------------

The little square in front of the Fontana di Trevi in Rome was crowded with people. It was like that every night, when all the people of the neighbourhood seemed to come out of their houses to talk, to argue, to laugh. Every spot they had left open was filled with tourists drawn to this beautiful spot that just emerged out of nothing from between high blocks of houses and small, dark streets.

The fountain didn't seem to belong there, and yet it did. It felt like suddenly stepping into something magical, and maybe it really was.

When the water falling down caused the lights to dance in the evening, the statues seemed to come to life, acting in a play that was always familiar but never the same.

The air was filled with music, laughter, people talking and now and then, the sound of coins being thrown into the fountain. Being there, it was just impossible to believe there was evil in the world, or to even just feel sad.

Everyone there couldn't help but feel happy and content.

Everyone but one man.

In a dark corner on the right side, sitting by himself on the edge of the fountain, a man in grey robes was barely visible. Sitting by himself on the edge of the fountain was Remus Lupin. His eyes were staring into the water, but didn't see anything. His right hand had slipped from his lap into the water, but he didn't seem to notice. He wouldn't have noticed if he would have been drowning in that same water, for he was drowning in his thoughts.

That day had been the day of the final battle against Voldemort.

---

After the Order heard rumours about Death Eaters planning to invade Hogwarts to kill Harry once and for all, security had been doubled. Most of the Order members had been patrolling the school for weeks now without anything unusual happening. They had almost started to believe the whole thing had been a false alarm, when that morning, all of a sudden, hell broke loose.

How they had managed to break through the wards was a mystery, but suddenly Death Eaters swarmed everywhere.

The Order had fought them for what seemed like an eternity, trashing the Great Hall and several corridors as they went along.

Afterwards, Alastor Moody had told Remus this fight had only been a diversion, enabling Voldemort to corner Harry. Moody and Kingsley Shacklebolt had been assigned to act as Harry's bodyguards. When Voldemort found them, Kingsley was dead before he even knew what hit him. Moody and Harry had fought Voldemort, but they both knew it was a lost battle when a Death Eater entered the classroom Voldemort had chased them into.

The Dark Lord noticed the Death Eater but ignored him, pointing his wand at Harry.

Being Stupified by Voldemort, Alastor knew there was no way he would be able to save Harry. Nor would Harry be able to defend himself as he was lying on the floor with the effects of the Cruciatus Curse, even though his wand was still clutched in his cramped hand.

The Dark Lord opened his mouth to kill Harry, a vicious smile spreading across his face. But instead of seeing a green bolt of light and hearing "Avada Kedavra", there was a flash of red light as they heard 'Expelliarmus'.

The moment Voldemort's wand flew out of his hand, the Crucio on Harry stopped. The Dark Lord turned around, only to see his Death Eater take off his hood and mask to reveal the face of Severus Snape. Voldemort finally understood that what he thought was one of his most loyal followers had betrayed him, fooled him all those years.

Then there was a green bolt of light. Using the confusion to his advantage, Harry had fulfilled the prophecy.

The Dark Lord was no longer.

Instead of surrendering when they heard of their master's death, the Death Eaters fought even more furiously. While at first they had all stayed together, fighting almost as a single person against the members of the Order, they now spread out, turning the fight into a lot of one-on-one fights.

The last time Remus had seen Tonks was when he was chasing Lucius Malfoy out of the castle towards the Forbidden Forest.

She was duelling Bellatrix Lestrange, standing on the cliffs on the side of the lake, dodging, blocking and casting spells.

He wanted to run towards her, help her, make sure she was safe, but he had his hands full with Malfoy and she seemed to be coping.

Remus continued to chase Malfoy while casting hexes at him. They ran past Moody, who was fighting off two Death Eaters at once. Past Arthur, who was bending over a tall figure that was lying on the ground. It was Fenrir Greyback, apparently dead; Remus couldn't help but smile.

---

He had been fighting Malfoy in the Forbidden Forest for hours. Lucius Malfoy was good at duelling, but so was Remus; his past had made sure of that. They had been wearing each other down until Malfoy, tired, stumbled over a tree root. He lost his balance and fell on his back. That was all Remus needed. He cast Petrificus Totalus on Malfoy, and then used Mobilicorpus to take him back to the castle.

When Remus came out of the Forest, he noticed that no one was there.

An ice-cold fear wrapped itself around his heart. Where was everyone? What had happened? Had they been defeated by the Death Eaters?

He crept up to the castle with Malfoy still floating in front of him, just above the ground. When he came to the main entrance, he saw a tall figure. Remus crouched down, but the tension between his shoulders released when he recognised the man's red hair, pulled back into a pony-tail.

Bill.

'Remus! Thank Merlin you're all right!' Bill shouted as he ran down the stairs. 'Oh no, that isn't one of us, is it?' he asked, pointing at Malfoy.

'No, it's Lucius Malfoy, I've Petrified him. Where is everyone, Bill? I've been fighting him for hours. You seem to be the only one here, what happened?'

'I am the only one here, although we're still missing a few members. I've stayed behind to send everyone who turns up, like you, to the headquarters for debriefing. I'm also guarding the Death Eaters we've captured. Quite a lot actually. We're keeping them in the dungeons; it's the safest at the moment. I'll take Malfoy; you need to get to Grimmauld Place as soon as possible.'

Remus had to ask Bill, although he was afraid to do so, afraid of the answer.

'Have we lost many? Do you know if Tonks ...' He let his words trail off, unable to say them.

'We have lost some people, although we're not sure how many just yet. I haven't seen Tonks anywhere; I don't know how she is. I'm sorry, Remus,' he finished in a soft voice.

'The best thing you can do is go to the headquarters; they'll know more than I do,' he added.

Remus nodded, trying to appear calm, although the cold fear had wrapped itself around his heart again. He handed Malfoy to Bill, turned around and practically ran towards the main gate.

'This doesn't have to mean anything,' he told himself, 'you didn't show up until a few minutes ago, and you're not dead either. She doesn't have to be dead.'

'Dead'. The last word echoed through his mind, increasing his fear with every step he took.

Once past the gate, he Apparated with a soft crack.

As he opened the front door and stepped into the hall, careful not to disturb Mrs. Black, Remus heard voices coming from the kitchen.

Everybody looked up when he entered, relief on their faces when they saw he was alive.

He couldn't hear what they were saying though, because half a heartbeat was enough for him to see that Tonks wasn't there. He felt like turning around and going back to Hogwarts. If she wasn't here, she would still be there. He didn't care how long he would have to search, he would find her.

Instead, he just clenched his jaw shut, afraid he would scream if he opened his mouth, and leaned back against the wall, listening to Alastor tell about the fight between Harry and Voldemort. Remus didn't want to know about every detail, he just wanted to hear what they knew about Tonks.

No one noticed though, everybody was too focused on Alastor. Remus didn't want to cut in – they had the right to know what had happened – so he waited.

He noticed Snape sitting in the opposite corner, listening to Moody talking about how he distracted Voldemort, seemingly determined not to interfere. Although some people still didn't seem to trust Snape completely, everybody accepted it when Alastor said Severus was on their side.

Remus started to pay more attention to the conversation when they began discussing the members that were wounded, missing or dead. Kingsley Shacklebolt had been murdered by Voldemort. Mundungus, Elphias Doge and Hestia Jones were killed in the fight. Fred and Charlie Weasley and Minerva McGonagall had been wounded badly enough to be hospitalized at Hogwarts.

Madam Pomfrey was confident she could heal Fred and Minerva completely, but she wasn't so sure about Charlie and had sent him to St. Mungo's. George was sitting quietly at the kitchen table, looking incomplete without Fred.

Finally Arthur mentioned Tonks. Remus felt his throat tighten when he looked at him. By the time Arthur started to talk, he couldn't breathe anymore.

'Tonks was fighting Bellatrix Lestrange on the cliffs. I saw it happen. Tonks could handle her, but suddenly Bellatrix cast Expelliarmus at her; it surprised her, I guess. Anyway, Tonks blocked it too late, it hit her. The force of the spell blew her over the edge of the cliffs, into the lake.'

Arthur sighed, suddenly looking very old.

'I took over the fight, to distract Bellatrix and give Tonks a chance to come out of the lake. Bellatrix kept casting Avada Kedavra at me, but I blocked them. After a while one of them backfired at her, killing her.'

Remus didn't care about Bellatrix; he had to know what had happened to Tonks. 'What about Tonks, where is she?' he asked Arthur.

'After the fight, we started looking for her. Her wand was lying on the cliffs, but we couldn't find her anywhere: not on the grounds, not in the school, not here, nowhere. Remus, I - I'm afraid she drowned,' Arthur whispered.

'Oh Remus, we're so sorry,' Molly said as she walked towards him.

He backed away; he couldn't bear to hear another single word. Turning on his heels, he just bolted: through the kitchen door, down the hall, falling over the umbrella stand and waking Mrs. Black. After he scrambled to his feet again, he ran upstairs. Remus didn't even hear Mrs. Black shouting, and if he had, he couldn't have cared less. Tonks was dead.

Dropping down on his bed, he covered his face with his hands, no longer able to stop the tears. 'Oh Dora, why?' He just sat there, crying silently, his face and hands wet with tears.

Molly came upstairs, and, knocking on the door, said, 'Remus, dear, is there anything I can do for you?'

He looked up at the door, but didn't say anything, hoping she would just leave. With an unusual amount of tact, she did.

As he dropped his head back down in his hands, he noticed the picture on his bedstand. It seemed only yesterday that she'd asked him about it. It was a picture of the Fontana di Trevi.

A few weeks ago, lying in bed late one night, he had told her about the picture. With his arms around her, she'd been lying snuggled up against him, her head on his chest.

He had told her about his childhood, how his parents had taken him all around the world, showing him the most beautiful places. One time, when he was about eight years old, they had showed him Rome. There, they had seen all the sights, beautiful pieces of artwork, incredible buildings and constructions, but nothing had impressed him more than the Fontana di Trevi.

They had eaten in a tiny restaurant and gone for a walk afterwards. Finding fresh air in Rome was impossible, but June days in Italy were hot, with only the night bringing some cooling. They had just wandered around until they suddenly came to a little square with a fountain that seemed to grow out of the building at the back of the square.

Because of all the lights shining from within the fountain, the statues appeared to be real, living creatures. Even the water seemed to be alive. He had been enchanted by it, by the atmosphere, the feeling of peace and the people there, even though he was normally a loner. Someone was playing guitar, and he had sat on the edge of the fountain, watching his parents dance to the music.

The Fontana could still make him feel like that eight year old boy again. Whenever he could take no more, when he was feeling completely miserable and abandoned by life, he would go to the Fontana. Just sitting at the edge of the fountain, watching, listening, would calm him down. No matter how bad things got, the Fontana could always pull him out of his bad mood, somehow making him feel there was a solution to every problem.

He had promised her he would take her there, to introduce his one great love to his other, as he'd called it.

Remus took the picture from his bedstand and looked at it more closely, watching the people around the fountain. It was almost like he hoped he would somehow see her amongst the people, but that was just being silly. How could she be there? She had never been there, and now it was too late.

Tears dripped down onto the picture frame as the depth of the situation began to sink in.

She was gone, forever.

Suddenly he couldn't breathe anymore; everything around him reminded him of her. He had to get out of there, right now. He jumped up, the picture falling to the ground, the glass shattering.

The corridor and stairs were abandoned, and he was thankful for the fact that he didn't run into anyone as he went straight for the front door.

Molly's 'Remus, is that you, dear?' was just audible as the front door closed behind him.

He didn't respond, though, and Apparated as soon as he was outside to the only place he could think of.

He had Apparated to a small alley nearby, but didn't remember the walk towards the Fontana, his feet had automatically carried him there.

Now he was sitting on the edge of the fountain, but for the first time, it couldn't bring him any solace. Nothing could ease this pain. His mind was still filled with grief and memories of her, and even here, everything reminded him of her.

A girl sitting on the steps in front of the fountain threw her head back, laughing at a joke one of her friends had made.

The way she did that reminded Remus of Tonks so badly that he felt another tear trickle down his face. He stared into the water again, trying not to cry in public, although his vision was already blurred.

Something white began to sway under his face. It took him a moment to realise that it was in fact a rose. Attached to the rose was a small Italian, a street vender.

Remus didn't have a reason to buy the rose; Tonks was gone. He waved the man away with a sad look on his face before his gaze once again returned to the water.

- -~oOo~- -

Tonks was having the most amazing dream. She was flying through the water. Yes, that was probably the best way to describe this feeling. It was just a feeling, because she was afraid that if she opened her eyes, the dream would be over.

She was up to her waist in the water, although her feet didn't touch anything.

Someone or something - she wasn't sure - was wrapped around her upper body and was somehow pushing her through the water.

It wasn't scary though. Being held like that was surprisingly comforting, and at the time, it didn't seem strange to her to be pushed through the water by someone or something she didn't know.

Now it got even better: she was lifted from the water, flying through the air. Then suddenly she was lowered onto a hard surface. Whatever it was that was holding her was now letting go.

Dissapointment flooded through her. Although she was still afraid that she would wake up if she opened her eyes, Tonks did open them to see what was going on.

It was dark and she seemed to be sitting on a rock. From the corner of her eyes she noticed something sliding away from her. She had to blink a couple of times before she recognised it as a tentacle.

A tentacle from the Giant Squid.

Then the memories came rushing back to her, and with those memories, a flaming headache. This wasn't a dream, it was all very real; she remembered it now. She remembered the fight inside the castle and, after hearing about Voldemort's death, outside on the grounds. She remembered Stunning several Death Eaters and fighting Bellatrix Lestrange on the cliffs. Just about exactly where she was sitting now, she realised. The last thing she remembered was a force blowing her backwards, a curse from Bellatrix, presumably.

Judging by her headache, Tonks could easily guess what had happened after that blow. She must have hit her head on a rock or something and been unconscious for quite a while, since it was completely dark by now.

Tonks didn't know what she thought was stranger, the fact that she didn't drown while floating through the water unconscious or the fact that the Giant Squid had saved her. 'Not exactly normal behaviour for a squid,' she thought, 'but then again, I'm not about to complain.'

The Auror inside her started to regain consciousness as well now. She noticed it was completely silent, so whoever had won, the battle was over now. She began to search the sky; everything seemed normal. She couldn't see the Dark Mark anywhere, and since that wasn't something to be easily overlooked, she started to believe they had defeated the remaining Death Eaters. She would rather have some hard evidence before she did anything stupid though.

Tonks decided to go looking for her wand before she did anything else. After all, she must have lost it just about here.

It wasn't anywhere on the cliffs, of course. 'Don't you think that's pushing it a bit, Tonks, my girl?' she muttered to herself with a small grin. 'How much luck do you think you can have on one evening?'

A movement near Hogwarts' main entrance caught her eye. Her grin widened when she recognised who it was. 'Well, well, always complaining about my pink hair, but red hair in moonlight is pretty hard to miss as well.'

This was the hard evidence she needed. Bill wouldn't be wandering about like that if they had lost the battle.

Her grin turned into an ear-to-ear smile when she realised that they had really won; it was all over now.

Tonks decided to abandon her rather fruitless search for her wand and go talk to Bill instead. She knew by now that they had won, but a little more information would be useful. What was the price they had paid for their victory? How many had been lost? And most importantly to her, how was Remus?

She got up and shivered, only now realising that she was completely soaked. Luckily, she'd always been rather good at wandless magic, and a few simple charms later, she was warm and dry again.

Tonks turned and started to walk towards Bill, only to find that he had already discovered her. 'Guess pink hair in moonlight is also pretty obvious,' she thought, as she looked at Bill.

He was now standing on the stairs leading up to the massive oak doors, looking slack-jawed and completely frozen.

'You - you - I - we -' Apparently, he had also lost his ability to speak.

'We thought you were dead,' he finally managed. 'Where did you come from?'

'I fell into the lake. I must have been unconscious for a long time, and, believe it or not, the Giant Squid saved me.'

If Bill had been able to look even more surprised than he already did, he would have, but that just wasn't possible.

Tonks wondered if he even understood what she was saying, but decided it didn't really matter.

'So, why are you standing outside like this? Where is everyone?' For a brief moment she was afraid that he was the only other survivor, but she didn't allow herself to finish that thought.

'Everybody is at the headquarters for debriefing. I guess you should go there as well; they'll be so happy to see you alive and well.' Apparently, that was all Bill could think of to say to her; he just stood there, staring at her.

'Bill, have you seen Remus? Do you know if he's all right?' Tonks asked him, her voice nothing more than a whisper. She didn't know what she would do if something had happened to him.

'Remus? Er, yes, he was here a while ago. Should be at Grimmauld Place right now.'

Tonks released a breath she didn't know she was holding. 'Thank Merlin for that.'

For a brief moment, they just stood there. Since Bill still couldn't do anything but stare, she gave him a nod and turned towards the main gate. Tonks still didn't know if everyone was all right, although a small voice in the back of her head said that it was wishful thinking to hope everyone had made it.

For now, she knew that Remus was all right, and she couldn't wait to see him. She started to run towards the gate as fast as she could, not wanting to waste any more time. She Apparated as soon as she was out the gate.

Tonks felt dizzy for a moment. Apparating with a splitting headache was not a very good idea. She leaned against the front door at Grimmauld Place, thankful she didn't get herself splinched, and waited for the world to stop spinning. When it did, she opened the door and stepped into the hall.

Soft voices were coming from the kitchen, but when Tonks entered, everybody seemed struck with Silencio. They all stopped talking, some even mid-sentence, with their mouths still open.

She didn't see it coming, but the next moment Molly hugged her so tight, she nearly choked Tonks to death. This movement caused her head to pound even more, and she dropped down in a chair and closed her eyes for a second.

When she opened them again, someone was holding a small vial under her face. 'What's this?' she mumbled, not bothering to look up.

'Headache Potion, you look like you could use –'

'What the hell is he doing here?' Tonks screamed when she realised who it was.

'Calm down, dear, it's all right, he's on our side. Just take the potion and you'll feel better,' Molly said, trying to calm her.

She looked at Molly, then at Snape, and then at Molly again. 'After being saved by the Giant Squid, I guess nothing should surprise me anymore,' Tonks muttered to herself.

This was one more strange thing that had happened today. She didn't know how much more she could handle; tiredness and fear were starting to get to her.

Still not completely convinced, Tonks reluctantly took the vial from Snape and swallowed the potion. 'Whether he's good or bad, he's still a damn good Potions master,' she thought as she felt the potion starting to work already.

'Tonks, can you tell me what happened? I saw you fall into the lake, but we couldn't find you after the fight; all we found was your wand. We thought you had drowned. What did you just say about the Giant Squid?' Arthur rambled on until Molly effectively silenced him with a hand, covering his mouth.

'If you want her to tell us what happened, you'll have to give her a chance, dear.'

'I - I don't really know where to start. You said you saw me fall into the lake. I'm not sure what happened after that, I guess I hit my head, because when I woke up it was already dark, so I must have been unconscious for a long time. I know it sounds strange, but the Giant Squid saved me. It must have found me floating in the lake, and it lifted me back onto the cliffs. I remember that. I didn't know what side had won, but then I saw Bill and he told me that you were all here, so I came here, too. You said you found my wand? Because I couldn't.'

Once she started talking, she couldn't stop.

'Now calm down, dear, take a deep breath,' Molly said soothingly.

For a moment, Tonks just sat there, focusing on her breathing. She found it did calm her down. Now that she didn't have the mind-numbing headache anymore, reality had just come crashing in. She now realised that she had been very close to dying today, on more than one occasion.

When she was calm again, she turned to Arthur. 'You said you found my wand?'

'Yes, it was still lying on the cliffs. Here you go, love.'

With a feeling of relief, Tonks tucked her wand in her sleeve. She always felt incomplete without it.

Looking around the kitchen, she finally noticed that Remus was missing. 'Where's Remus? Bill said he had to be here, didn't he show up?'

Now it was Molly's turn to ramble. 'He did, dear, he did. But we thought you were dead, and when we told him, well, he just lost it. He ran up to his room and stayed there for a while. I went up to see him, but he didn't even answer me. Then all of a sudden, he left, but I've got no idea where he would go to. I guess he didn't go to Hogwarts, otherwise you or Bill would have found him already.'

Molly stopped talking when she noticed Tonks growing paler every second. 'But don't worry, dear, I'm sure he'll turn up and then everything will be fine.'

Tonks nodded, but wasn't at all sure everything would be fine. She remembered something Remus had said to her months ago. 'Dora, my love, my world, if I ever lose you, I don't think I'll be able to live with it.'

He had said it in a playful manner, but she hadn't missed the serious undertone. He had been very serious.

If he really thought she had died today, then she wasn't sure what he would do to himself. 'Merlin,' she thought, 'I have to find him before it's too late. But I haven't got a clue as to where he went tonight. Molly was right, he didn't go to Hogwarts; I would have seen him if he had. But then, where did he go to?'

The kitchen seemed too noisy to think clearly, now that everybody started to discuss how they could have assumed she was dead.

Tonks went out of the kitchen, into the hall and sat on the stairs.

'All right, you can do this, you're an Auror. Think, where could he have gone?' Her mind stayed completely blank. She could think of only two options.

Hogwarts was one, but she would have run into him if he had gone there, and she hadn't. The headquarters was the other option.

Remus didn't have his own place, he lived right here, at Grimmauld Place. Normally when something was wrong, he would lock himself in his room. Right now, however, it was pretty obvious that he wasn't here.

'But wait, what did Molly say? He did go to his room, so why did he leave, then?'

Tonks got up and started to climb the stairs. Something must have happened when he was in his room, and maybe she could find out what it was.

The moment she entered Remus' room, she heard something cracking under her feet. Glass spread out over the entire floor. It didn't take a genius to figure out where it came from. Next to his bed was a picture frame lying on the ground. The sheets on his bed were wrinkled; he must have been sitting there, looking at the picture and for some reason, he'd dropped it.

She bent over to pick up the picture and cut her hand on a piece of glass sticking out of the frame. 'Ouch!' she yelped, the sudden burning pain startling her.

A quick Healing Charm prevented her from smearing blood onto anything, and she picked up the picture again, this time a bit more carefully. A smile slowly spread across her face when she recognized the Fontana di Trevi.

'Of course, why didn't I think of that before?'

Tonks remembered Remus telling her about it. She'd never heard him talk like that, so tenderly, lovingly about something. She remembered thinking, 'If he talks to people about me that way, I'm one lucky girl.'

That's what he'd called them, her and the Fontana, his two great loves. Of course he went to the Fontana tonight.

At least that meant Remus wasn't going to hurt himself. However, this situation did present a little problem.

She could go after him. From the picture, she knew what the Fontana looked like. She could just Apparate, but she didn't even want to think about the consequences if she Apparated straight into a square packed with Muggles.

A knock on the door pulled Tonks out of her musings.

Harry was standing in the doorway. He looked different, somehow older and younger all in one. He had grown up today; he wasn't a boy any more, but at the same time, the sparkle in his eyes had returned.

Tonks hadn't seen that sparkle since Sirius had died at the end of Harry's fifth year. Actually, it wasn't just a sparkle. Right now, he looked like he had swallowed some of the twins' fireworks; he was practically bouncing.

Tonks couldn't blame him, though. Harry had just managed to free the wizarding world from its worst fear. He had earned the right to be somewhat overexcited

'I heard you scream, what's wrong?'

Tonks started to wave the picture frame a bit. 'I picked this up, but cut my hand on the glass.'

Harry chuckled. 'So, "clumsy" is still your middle name, I should have known. What is that picture, anyway?'

'The Fontana di Trevi. Remus loves it. I'm pretty sure that's where he is right now.'

'So, go after him.'

'I would, but I've got a problem. I can't Apparate to an alleyway there. I only know what the Fontana and the square look like from this picture, and I can't just Apparate there, it'll be packed with Muggles.'

Tonks didn't know what kind of response she expected from Harry, but it wasn't the mischievous grin that was now spreading across his face. It reminded her of Remus, telling her about his days as a Marauder.

'That problem can be solved very easily, wait here,' he said, while turning and leaving the room. He was back within the minute, with something silvery in his hands. It wasn't until he unfolded the package, making it resembling something the size of a large, thin curtain before Tonks realised it was his Invisibility Cloak.

'This should take care of your problem.'

'How do you mean?'

'Not as sharp as usual tonight, are we?' he teased her. 'You put on my Invisibility Cloak and you Apparate to this Fontana-whatever-its-name-is. Just make sure you pick a spot to Apparate to where you don't risk landing on top of some poor Muggle.'

She snorted at the thought. No, landing on top of a Muggle while Apparating was an experience she could very easily go without.

Looking more closely at the picture, Tonks noticed a building at the right side of the fountain. A store, to be exact, the front door a bit set back into the wall. The store would be closed now. Perfect. If she Apparated right in front of that door, she wouldn't risk landing on top of anyone.

'Picked a spot, have you?'

'Yes.' She pointed out the place she'd chosen to Harry. 'This should do it.'

He handed her the Cloak. 'Well, what are you waiting for?'

'Right now?'

'That's the idea. Go on, I'll tell Mrs. Weasely where you went.'

Nodding, she took the Cloak and pulled it around herself. Tonks heard Harry calling 'Good luck' just before she Apparated.

She had been a bit worried about startling someone with the sounds of Apparition, but she shouldn't have been. There were so many sounds that no one noticed the soft crack coming from a closed front door.

She ducked behind a car parked in front of the store and shrugged of Harry's Invisibility Cloak. She folded it until it was small enough to fit in her pocket. Walking away from the car, towards the fountain, Tonks started to scan the crowd.

There were people everywhere: walking and standing in the square, sitting on the steps around the fountain, or on the edge of the fountain itself.

Remus had been right, the Fontana was absolutely breathtaking. 'But you're not here because of the Fontana, you're here because of Remus, so go find him,' Tonks reminded herself.

It took her a while to notice him, sitting in a dark corner on the right side of the fountain. His grey robes made him almost invisible against the grey stone of the Fontana.

'Not completely invisible, though,' she thought to herself when she saw a street vender selling roses approach Remus. Tonks watched him wave the man away.

The look on Remus' face was so sad, she felt like holding him and never letting go. However, she decided on a slightly different approach.

Discreetly, she transfigured a piece of parchment into some Muggle money. It wouldn't fool the goblins at Gringotts, but it would fool a Muggle any day. She sought out the street vender and bought the white rose Remus had just declined. Approaching Remus, she tried to make sure he didn't see her until she was standing right in front of him.

That wasn't exactly difficult, as his face was turned away from her, staring into the water as if he was thinking about drowning himself in it.

- -~oOo~- -

Remus tried to focus on the coins at the bottom of the fountain. The lights dancing in the water made it seem like they were moving. He needed something to focus on. He didn't want to cry, but his eyes were filled with tears; he couldn't focus on anything.

Again, something white began to sway under his face.

Remus decided to ignore the rose, hoping the pushy, little street vender would finally get the hint and leave him alone.

That didn't happen though. He blinked the tears out of his eyes, and looked at the rose more closely. Just before grunting "Why the hell won't you leave me alone?" he noticed the difference.

This time, the hand holding the rose wasn't tanned and wrinkled with short, chubby fingers.

This time, the hand was pale, with long, slender fingers and smooth skin.

This time, the hand was trembling slightly.

This time, the hand looked like – "No, it can't be," he cut himself off. But that ring, the ring he'd given her for her birthday last month.

Slowly, very slowly, Remus looked up, still afraid that this was some kind of hallucination. Because this wasn't possible; she was dead.

But it was.

This time, it was Tonks holding the rose.


End file.
